Psychological first aid to help reduce stress

Every year, more than one lakh people commit suicide in India. Several others are killed or injured in road rage and other incidents linked to high stress level.Durgesh Nandan Jha | TNN | October 05, 2016, 08:42 IST

NEW DELHI: Every year, more than one lakh people commit suicide in India. Several others are killed or injured in road rage and other incidents linked to high stress level. Experts say much of this can be prevented with timely psychological first aid (PFA), an emerging concept that promotes humane, supportive and practical help to a person in distress. It is the theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day to be observed on October 10.

“Physical first aid has been there for years. It is used to reduce discomfort due to bodily injury. But psychological first aid is an emerging concept. It attempts to give healing touch to the mind,” explained Dr Nimesh Desai, director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS). He said PFA can be provided by anyone, including a family member or friend, but there is a need for professionals in this field too.

IHBAS is organising week-long events in the capital during which different aspects of mental illness is being discussed. One of the sessions to be held with doctors will focus on PFA since they are the first contacts in case of medical needs, Desai added.

PFA has been successfully used to deal with stress caused by disaster and conflict situations. Such situations are known to cause mental health and psychological consequences as rates of mood and anxiety disorders, substance abuse, general psychological distress, social needs and impairments in social functioning increase among those exposed to crisis events.

PFA can also help deal with similar situation arising out of individual crisis, for example, sexual assault, rape, clinical depression or stress due to financial crisis in family, said Dr Nand Kumar, associate professor of psychiatry at AIIMS.

He said in the past, when the family system was strong, it was easier to get support but with the disintegration of this social system, the need for professional help for psychological stress at individual level has gone up.

Stressing the importance of PFA, another senior psychiatrist, Dr Shyam Bhat, said, “We must also take measures to de-stigmatise mental health issues. We must fight against misinformation, lack of information, stigma and shame associated with mental illness.”

Stress at work and in social life has resulted in an increase in the number of people suffering from psychiatric illnesses and sub-syndromes of diseases like headache, tension and insomnia, a survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on urban mental health revealed. It found in Delhi, 8-10% of people suffer from psychiatric illnesses like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Sub-syndrome mental illnesses—psychological problems that do not qualify as mental illness—were more common.

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